How to write a guest post for a major publication

Getting a guest post on a major blog is important for a few reasons. First, it puts you front and center of major conversations, placing your name – and your company’s name – right in the limelight. Next, it’s vital for link farming, allowing your site to get some solid SEO by hitching yourself to another successful site.

Plus it’s fun.

We’ve been writing a lot of guest posts for various sites including sites dedicated to 3D printing, media, and marketing, and we’ve figured out a surefire way to get accepted.

1. Focus on service journalism. You are not writing a hagiography of your company nor are you trying to create a white paper. Instead, you are offering your expertise on a matter. Therefore your topic should be “When should you hire a CFO?” or “What is the best 3D printer for designers?” vs. “How our CFO saved us $5 million” or “How we used a 3D printer to make $2 million in bookings.”
    
2. Interview other founders. In an effort to create content that is balanced, we recommend getting quotes from other founders about the topic. The rising tide lifts all boats and by working with people who have dealt with similar issues you reduce the dependence on your singular voice.
    
3. Avoid LinkedIn broetry. Don’t write like this. 
   In short sentences. 
   With lots of dramatic pauses. 
   It makes you look like you’re about to tell us about your $5,000 an hour consulting offering.
    
4. Tell a story. Begin with a story about you and your company. When this happened, we dealt with it in this way. This, in turn, taught us a general rule of thumb that is applicable everywhere.
    
5. Don’t market. This isn’t a marketing exercise. Instead, it’s an effort to share your knowledge with a specific audience. Don’t include too many links back to your website and include a short, humble bio at the end. Journalists tasked with selecting guest posts want posts that are readable, relevant, and interesting. 
    
6. Understand that once the post is accepted, you can’t change anything. In many cases, a site that accepts your guest post will take a long time to post it, change things willy-nilly, and generally neuter it of perceived conflict of interest. Accept that this will happen and move on to your next post.

If you’d like some more help on your next post as well as pitching assistance, we’re standing ready, email us. Good luck and happy writing.

Check out our earlier posts on writing a post, or pitching.